Amrut Single Malt Rye

Rating: 18/23 I've never heard of a rye single malt. I have no idea what to expect, but Amrut is usually good. N: Rich. Wood, toasted grain, apple, orange. Some dark chocolate, a hint of vanilla. Not the most complex nose, but a darned enjoyable one. P: This is not the richest Amrut by any means, but it certainly is rich. Super smooth too. I get rye spice, but it's fairly muted and buried in the other rich flavors. Lots of candied orange, caramel, malt, and wood come out. There's a musty, slightly tart (possibly tart from the chocolate) sense of age in here that adds further complexity to the maltiness, a bit like Westward. It's not the most complex dram, but it has solid complexity, it's interesting, and it's very enjoyable. Not harsh, but there is a nice spiciness throughout. There's a little bit of vegetal and herbal funk that I really dig and balance wonderfully with the malt. Sazerac and Pikesville immediately spring to mind for comparison. Sazerac has a similar orange profile and elegance, as well as more of that standard rye spice dryness, but it actually has a more mineral sweetness to it and a more brash profile. It's tough to say which is more complex, but this is more smooth and rounded. For a mixed drink, Sazerac would be better, but this might be a better sipper. I think they're fairly comparable. I'd say that the richness and smoothness do align quite well with Pikesville, though Pikeville's bourbony flavors don't match up with this. The two are similar in quality, but I give the nod to Pikesville for its increased breadth of flavor. The maltiness does bring in a hint of a vegetal element that reminds me of Copper Fox Rye. This tastes very nicely aged. It's sort of like a 6-12 YO low rye Rye lightly crossed with an 18-25 YO scotch. F: The musty maltiness lasts the longest, but there's some chocolate in there with it and some dusty wood. It's a nice finish, though the palate is certainly better. The finish does go on and on with this hedonistic sense of age to it. Side-by-side, the Copper Fox tastes tremendously young and definitely not as malty. Aside from the faint malty similarity, I'd say that they are not similar. This is a smoother, richer, more elegant rye than Sazerac or Pikesville, I'd say. Pikeville has a similar core richness, but it turns out harsher and ends with a more raw, youthful finish that demonstrates less complexity. Much like Old Fitz, this isn't the most interesting to probe for complexities, but it's terrific to sit back and contemplate. It tastes quite old with this great hedonistic character to it. I don't think it's worth the price, but I'm very glad to have tried it and I'd be very interested to see it compared with some of the older WhistlePig releases. In comparison with some of those Boss Hogs, this might be a steal! It does have some of that Corsair Buck Yeah funky maltiness to it, though it's tough to say which is better from a tiny sip, particularly considering that they are such different beasts. I was going back and forth between this and Pikesville, but I've decided that this is better. I really love the mature, rich, maltiness that is showcased here. I'm leaning toward this, but the two are surprisingly similar in profile and quality. I'm thinking 16 to 18 on this one. I really don't think it's a 19 because it lacks complexity. I might bump Pikesville up to a 17 and this might be a hair better, but that's all a bit specualtive. I'm leaning 17, but could go 19. I'd love to see some more malted ryes like this! But not at such outlandish prices. To just compare with other Amruts, it's a kind of tough call between this and the Amrut Single Malt Cask Strength, but I'd give this the edge because of how the finish just goes on and on with this hedonistic age. I also have trouble with this versus the Amrut Madeira, though the Madeira does kind of come out initially with some sulfur, which may have been why I pegged it as young initially. The Amrut Fusion initially tastes weak and young in comparison to this, but while the youth remains, the peat comes out and brings a bold character to the Fusion that puts it a smidge above this. If I had to rate the Amrut's right now (excluding Portonova, which isn't on hand), I'd go something like Kadhambam, Madeira, Peated CS, Fusion, Rye SM, Peated, SM CS, SM. But they're all things I'd be happy to drink. Actually, this is an especially good whiskey, so I'm surprised to not be putting it higher on the list. Amrut may be my new favorite distillery. Looping back around to rating, I think I'm going to go with a low 18 for this. The best way I think I can describe this is Pikesville meets Westward meets 21 YO Speyside scotch. The way it projects age is truly fascinating. The nose, palate, and finish are all delightfully hedonistic. If this were less than $100, I would totally snag a bottle. Tragically, it's quite expensive and difficult to find. I could buy two bottles of Pikesville and a bottle of Westward for less than this.

Time for another one of the exciting bonus samples from our tour group. An Indian single malt from Amrut where the malt being used is rye instead of the traditional barley. The only other Amrut I’ve had was 10mL of the cask strength greedy angles that was provided by @PBMichiganWolverine (as was this one) and that was superb. Let’s see how this one fares. Bottled at 50% ABV, this NAS expression is non chill filtered and is most likely natural color of a beautiful mahogany. Strong minty oak starts the nose, promising a powerful palate to follow. It’s very rye heavy, as is to be expected from a 100% rye, but it’s also quite fruity. Apples, pears and a little banana. Walnuts, toasted coconut, more oak and barrel char. Vanilla and caramelized brown sugar. New and old leather, cocoa powder and tea, fairly herbal as well. Pink bubblegum towards the bottom of the glass (I’ve found this in many bourbons) with a bit of a pineapple/mango combo. WOW, a hugely powerful arrival. You’d think it was well above 50%. Spicy peppery oak. Rye and warm buttered rye toast. Strong mint and dill with some clove. Mixed nuts, underripe bananas, yellow apples, pears. More rye and oak make their way back around. Tropical fruits appear the more you get accustomed to the intensity. Papaya, mango and guava. Those tropical fruits really help to add complexity to a fairly simple whisky. I say simple, but the sheer power of it really negates that descriptor. A full bodied mouthfeel. HOT, oily, mouthwatering and mouth coating. The finish is medium long with oak, mint, herbal and fruity. This is my second Amrut, and it’s another winner. Far too strong to be a daily sipper, but when the mood hits and you want something with power, or to torture friends expecting something soft, this would be a great choice. Can’t say I’d buy a bottle at $170, but it’s got great character. While it’s not very complex, it’s powerful flavors make up for any shortcomings. 4.25-4.5, but closer to 4.25 I think. Cheers

My experience with Indian malts is extremely limited. In fact, the only ones I’ve tried were solely gifted to me by my friend Pranay. They are spice and ABV beasts, but they do deliver the goods. This is a newer, NAS release that uses European rye that is 5 years old and is aged exclusively in American oak barrels. It has a nice, rounded ABV of 50% and is a beautiful reddish-copper in the taster. It slowly forms oily legs before settling back in the glass. The nose is quite possibly the best part IMO. It starts with fresh cut, tropical fruit and rye bread before turning somewhat floral with a breezy hit of spearmint washing across the nostrils if you linger in there too long. There’s little to no barrel notes nor is there a heavy hit of alcohol from the higher ABV. That alone is amazing to me. The palate is where the typical rye whisky makes its appearance known. Strong, peppery rye spice, fresh oak and some serious citrus-like zing. It’s so strong it felt like it stripped all the oils that normally coat your tongue. It’s borderline violent, lol. The finish is- to put it bluntly- excessive (in a good way, haha). It continues to burn the tongue and throat until you physically make it go away (and it will take more than a sip of water). It’s got a hold of you and ain’t letting go. Boy, this is perfect for finding out if you’ve been slipping in the whisky game. Are you sure you haven’t been getting soft? Amrut Rye will surely let you know. If you see this stuff at a bar- take the challenge. It’s worth it, I promise you. A huge thanks to Pranay for letting me re-focus my chi, fine tune my game, whatever. This is fine stuff. 4.5 stars. Cheers.

As I sit and review this on a rare Wednesday, midweek review, news of Tom ‘Terrific’ Seaver’s passing hits the headlines and a quick sadness dampens this review, being a huge Mets fan. 2020 cannot pass fast enough... As you breathe this in, there is a spicy sweetness about this dram. Not potent or heavy handed. As it settles, it really sweetens on the nose. Caramel covered apples and pears with bananas, apricots, toasted coconut and brown sugar. A touch of aged leather, dried oak, walnuts, cocoa powder with a tangent bubble gum aroma. Spice and fruits with a touch of sweetness, embodied. This has an initial spicy bite that slowly diminishes. Cracked black pepper, red pepper, chili powder, slightly burnt pumpernickel bread, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Pecans, walnuts, salted peanuts with apples and pears and roasted pineapples. The flavors are wrapped in a medium body with jagged edges. A touch of water really pulls the sugars out and smooth the jagged edges. However it loses it character and blurs the distinctive flavors. A better pour undiluted. A finish that’s long, warm and woody. A touch of dill and mint and a touch of cola. This is more bourbon than rye. A wonderful nose that is full and rich. Full of variety and rich enough to have as an intermittent sipper. The need to slow down and be quite patient time is much needed but ultimately rewarded. Thanks @PBMichiganWolverine for sharing (3 years ago). Unfortunately it took me this long to get to it and wish I got to it sooner. #41. #LGM. [90/100][Tasted: 9/2/20]

First of all...kudos to the Distiller team. I asked them just yesterday if this can be added...and VOILA! It's here. Thank you for the amazing customer service! Okay...so, to the review....I'm a huge fan of Amrut. They've really come a long way, and placed India on the distillery map producing top notch whiskey. Their 10 yr Greedy Angels remains on of my favorites, along with the Intermediate Sherry. In this case, they've done a US-India-Europe crossover. They've taken American barrels, European rye, and Indian climate. And it's worked...it's unusual, not your typical rye, so some may like it, others may not...but, in my opinion, seems to work. It's potent, but in a very un-Amrut like fashion, has a floral elegance to it. Amrut is a brute, with hair growing whiskey, so this is a bit of a departure. Or so you'd think...until that 50% ABV hits you. Nose isn't like other ryes. It's a bit more sweetly potent, like you're about to have strong bourbon. Tastes kicks you in the teeth with traditional rye flavors, but amped up (influence of the Bangalore climate). If you're not a rye fan, don't bother. If you're a standard old fashioned rye fan, don't bother. It doesn't have the typical rye profile. But, if you're adventurous, and would love to try a rye that comes at you stronger (think Buffalo Trace's Thomas Handy ) and yet elegant (think Sazerac 18), this is for you. It's pricey...might want to hold off on the bottle, and sample it first somewhere, just in case you find it too forward and off-the-beaten path.

I think it took me all of five minutes between coming home and seeing the package of samples from Pranay (aka PBMichiganWolverine) to getting this in a glass, such was my anticipation for it. I'm a big fan of Amrut and rye so I had high hopes for this. It didn’t disappoint. It's a beautiful russet color in the Glencairn, with a nose of polished wood and an undertone of menthol. Left to air over time (due to a thoughtless dinner interruption), the mint emerges as the dominant note, with a hint of something floral in the background. It’s quite overpowering on the first sip, but once the palette adjusts it reveals flavors of nuts and black tea, enveloped in zesty rye spices. The finish is very long and spicy. I’d gladly keep a bottle of this in my collection, though it does inhabit the expensive end of the rye spectrum. Thanks, Pranay.